Carr Chief of Staff: Incoming Chairman Doesn't Oppose FCC Contender Roth
The office of Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to become chairman, said Thursday night he doesn’t oppose Senate Commerce Committee GOP Telecom Policy Director Arielle Roth as a potential nominee to fill the commission seat Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will vacate Jan. 20. Carr Chief of Staff Greg Watson pushed back against reports framing Carr as opposing a Roth nomination, a position that would put him in conflict with Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz is strongly backing Roth behind the scenes, leading some to see her as the front-runner for Rosenworcel's seat, communications sector lobbyists told us (see 2412110046).
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Watson told us that former FCC officials and communications industry lobbyists who said Carr outright opposes Roth’s potential nomination are “not correct. You’d be running a false story if you published” that information. Some officials and lobbyists last week said that reports of a disagreement between Carr and Cruz over placing Roth at the FCC came up several times during recent conference calls about Congress’ telecom policy goals for this year. A Senate Commerce spokesperson questioned the veracity of those sources and suggested the rumors were coming from “the same unnamed lobbyist and ex-FCC official who was a big cheerleader for [President Joe] Biden’s failed BEAD and” affordable connectivity program initiatives.
A former FCC official clarified Friday that Carr was reluctant before Christmas about a Roth nomination because of doubts about whether she would consistently guarantee him a third vote for his policy agenda. Another ex-official indicated Carr’s qualms about Roth never rose to the level of an “iron-clad veto” against her nomination. Several ex-officials and lobbyists said Watson’s statement indicates Carr’s previous concerns have since eased.
Cruz continued Thursday not to comment on whether he wants Roth at the FCC, the state of nominations or if he’s in conflict with Carr. “I’ll keep discussions on personnel between me and [Trump] rather than litigating it in the press,” Cruz told us. Several lobbyists said Cruz has been amplifying his support for Roth in conversations with the Trump team in recent weeks. A communications sector lobbyist who closely follows GOP deliberations said Cruz advocated for Roth’s nomination during “more than one” recent conversation with Trump.
Cruz said he expects Trump will announce a nominee for Rosenworcel’s seat “relatively soon,” but “I don’t know the timing.” Observers previously expected Trump to name a third FCC Republican shortly after he announced in December picking GOP FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to chair that agency and nominated Mark Meador, a former antitrust staffer for Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, to the commission seat that Chair Lina Khan currently holds (see 2412100073). Some lobbyists still expect Trump to announce a nominee for Rosenworcel’s seat before Jan. 20, but they acknowledge their earlier sense of increased momentum has recently waned.
Alternatives
Lobbyists emphasized that a Roth FCC nomination still isn’t a foregone conclusion. Former officials noted Roth also remains a strong contender to be Trump’s nominee for NTIA administrator. Lobbyists see Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty as another lead contender for the Rosenworcel seat. Armed Services now-Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., endorsed Trusty in November (see 2411220045). Trusty would likely sail through Senate Commerce given her history as a Wicker aide when he was that panel’s chairman, lobbyists said.
Trusty would likely also be in the running for current Commissioner Nathan Simington’s seat if he vacates it for another Trump administration role (see 2412040046), lobbyists said. Carr is urging Simington to remain at the FCC “deeper into” 2025, and it’s unclear what the Trump team’s timeline is for placing the commissioner in another position, a former commission official said.
Cooley’s Robert McDowell, a Republican former FCC commissioner, told us every incoming commission chair has an interest in monitoring the nominations sweepstakes because other commissioners in the new president’s party will play a significant role in moving major policy items that the two members from the minority party are likely to oppose. “Every chair, regardless of party, wants a reliable set of three votes,” he said.
Digital First Project Executive Director Nathan Leamer, a former aide to ex-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said he’s not aware of “any rift between people in the Republican Party about who” should fill Rosenworcel’s seat, but Trump’s team “is doing their due diligence and talking to a number of solid candidates.” A final decision about who will be the nominee “is entirely up to President Trump and his team,” Leamer told us. “It’s not the call” of Cruz, Carr “or any industry lobbyist” or advocate. It’s “a huge success” that “we’re already talking about who the third” FCC Republican will be before Trump has even returned to the White House, Leamer said.